Hello again fellow readers and writers. UltimateHero here with the next chapter of Kicking It in Kanto! Previously, we found the extreme duo of Maurecia and Jenny well on their way to Celadon city for an attempt of their first gym badge. On their way, Jenny suggested that they get ready for the future match by having a Pokémon battle. However, during the battle, a trio of mankeys had descended from the trees and fiddled with the girls' belongings. One of them had taken a certain liking to Maurecia's helmet.
They attempted to get it back, but unfortunately, they were chased away when the mankeys became enraged. Though Maurecia wasn't leaving without her helmet. After hatching a plan to lure the thieving mankey out, they managed to knock the helmet off of it for a short while. Though it wasn't the helmet that Maureca was so concerned about. Rather what was in it. A class photo of her and her classmates and Wayside. The picture meant a lot to her. And she was glad to get it back. Thoguh, that didn't mean she was satisfied yet. She then challenged the mankey to a battle. Had she lost, she would have had to let it run away with the helmet. But she won. Not only her helmet back, but a new member to her team as well. With her new mankey in tow, Jenny and Maurecia continue on their way to Celadon. Today, we once again return to the genius/slacker duo as they make a stop on their way to Vermillion City.
Chapter 8:Rhyhorn Rampage!
It's been almost two days since Myron and Dana left HopHopHop town. Dana had her nose in a map with her magnimite orbiting around her head. Whereas Myron looked like he was about ready to pass out.
"Danaaaa, how much further?" Myron whined.
"Much, much further. Dana replied. Vermilion city is still a bit of a ways away. But if we keep going on our current path, we could be there by noon tomorrow."
"Can't we take a break? We've been walking for hours." Said Myron.
"We just took a break an hour ago! Dana replied. Although, my legs are getting a bit tired too. Looks like there's a small village coming up. We can stay there for the night and start in the morning. After a couple minutes more, the two had arrived at a village. It had no name, but it seemed like it was prospering well. Small buildings and a couple of crops covered the place. But some areas of the village wasn't looking too good.. As Dana looked to the right, she saw that some of the village was destroyed. Broken chunks of wood, were scattered across the ground and some of the crops were trampled over ruining the produce that would have come from them.
"What happened here?" Dana asked herself.
"Danaa, come on!" Myron shouted as he was already on his way down to the village.
"Hmph. He was just dragging his feet a second ago." Dana grumbled as she and magnimite made their way down to the village as well. Once there, they began searching the village for some sort of inn. While searching, Dana stopped a few times to observe some of the villagers rebuilding homes. She couldn't help but become curious. Though first, she needed to locate an inn. So, she had approached one of the men who weren't focusing on building.
"Excuse me, sir? Me and my friend are new to this village. You wouldn't happen to have somewhere we could rest would you?" Dana asked.
"Ah, travelers huh? The man asked. Sure. Just follow the path down there and take a right. We have an Inn that might be just what you need. You'll know it when you see it." The man replied pointing behind the two.
"Great. Thank you." Dana said before she and Myron followed his directions. The two eventually came to a fairly-sized building. It was almost entirely made up of wood save for the glass in it. The front entrance had a small porch with a small staircase and two rails at its sides. Myron wasted no time in going inside ready to kick off his shoes and rest his feet. Upon entering, the first thing they see is an adult male with two Pokémon at his side at a large desk stationed at the entrance.
The man himself seemed to be in his mid-thirties. He had short black hair and light brown skin. He wore a white kimono with a small belt tied around the waste and black pants with open-toed sandals.
The Pokémon to his left had the look of a fire type. It was a long tailed Pokémon and it had small little flame like growths on top two large lumps at the front of its head. It had small slanted eyes and a duck-bill like mouth. It wore a black collar on its neck and similar cuffs on its wrists. Its shoulders were yellow and had four digits on each hand. Each with a small but sharp and pointed nail making them claws. The top half of his torso under its neck was red while its bottom half was almost entirely yellow save for its legs and feet. The yellow formed a flame pattern.
The Pokémon to the right of the man looked like a water type. It too was an anthropomorphic creature with dark blue skin and black eyes. It had short and stubby arms and legs. Its hands were covered by little white gloves. The most noticeable thing about this Pokémon was the large white spot on its front with a black line forming a swirling pattern and ending at the center.
"Welcome to the Tetsuo Inn. How may we help you today?" The man asked.
"We're on our way to Vermillion city and we need a place to stay for the night." Dana replied.
"Hmm. You two seem to be very young for travelers. The man began. Would you two happen to be Pokémon trainers?"
"That's right, sir. Dana replied. We're aiming to get our first badge at the Vermilion city gym.
"Whaaat?! Vermilion city gym?! The man asked shocked.
"Uh, yes. Why? Is something wrong with that?" Asked Myron.
"Listen kids, if you want a first badge, I wouldn't suggest going to Vermilion city. The man replied. From what I know, the gym leader there uses a powerful electric type Pokémon. For a while, he had remained undefeated and sent dozens of trainers running to the Pokémon center with their defeated Pokémon in tow.
"Wow. Is the gym leader there really that tough?" Asked Myron.
"Without a doubt. The man replied. Then again, you can't exactly expect a gym leader to be weak. If you still plan on going for that badge, then best of luck to you. Anyway, let's get you two signed in. Now if I could have your names?"
"I'm Dana." Dana said introducing herself.
"My name's Myron." Said Myron doing the same. The man had wrote down their names in a book on his desk.
"Okay. I'm Tetsuo. The Inn's owner. The man said introducing himself. Now, I'll be needing two-hundred yen each for a night's stay here." Dana and Myron had reached into their pockets and found that they had just enough. Thankfully, they had ran into many other beginner trainers on the way to the village.
"Good. Good. Said Tetsuo as he had counted the money. Now if you'll just follow me, I'll show you around." Tetsuo said as he started down the left hallway with the two Pokémon following close behind. They began passing multiple locked doors as they proceeded down the hallway. These are the several bedrooms we have here. Lucky you didn't come on a busy day or it might have been a tad more troublesome letting you stay here."
"Hey, what are those two Pokémon with you?" Asked Myron.
"Oh, This is Magmar and Poliwhirl. Tetsuo answered, These guys have been with me since I started this Inn." Dana and Myron had then pulled out their Pokedex's.
(Insert Magmar pokedex entry later)
(Insert Poliwhirl pokedex entry later)
The group had soon arrived at the dining area. There were large tables on the floor with multiple pillows set around each of them. The kitchen area in the back was well stocked with food, condiments and cooking supplies. This is the dining area where we serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. Tetsuo allowed them to get a good look at it before moving on. He had led them to the back of the building where a large hot spring resided. There were several rocks placed around the springs and large wooden walls to keep any intruders from getting a free dip.
"And this these are our hot springs. Our guests come out here to relax after a long and tiring day or to just enjoy the springs. See, my magmar and poliwhirl have important jobs here. Whenever the springs start to dry up, poliwhirl here uses his power over water to refill them. And when the hot springs get too cold, magmar here can heat them up just to the right temperature."
"Fascinating. Using the natural abilities of Pokemon to benefit other people. Said Dana impressed. And to be able to maintain the springs by themselves. These must be some strong Pokémon. Magmar and Poliwhirl had blushed in response to the comment.
"That's right. I'm very proud of these two. If it weren't for them, I'm not sure I could keep the hot springs going. Teetsuo said patting the two on their heads. Anyway, that's it for the tour. I hope you enjoy your stay. Now, if you'll follow me back to the front desk we'll-." Tetsuo was interrupted as one of the Inn's workers had shown up. It was a female and she seemed to have run quite a distance as she was out of breath.
"Tetsuo…it's…" She spoke in between breaths.
"Hey, breath first. Said Tetsuo. Now what is it?"
"It's the rhyhorn! They're back!" She exclaimed.
"What, Now?! They must be eager today. Tetsuo said gritting his teeth. Y-you kids stay here. I'll be right back. Magmar, Poliwhirl, let's go!" The two Pokemon had nodded in agreement and dashed off with Tetsuo.
"Rhyhorn? Dana asked. Hey! Tetsuo, wait!" She called out as she had gave chase.
"Dana, wait! I thought we were gonna take a break!" Myron shouted. With a groan, he had followed Dana. Meanwhile outside at the outskirts of the village, a large dust cloud had stirred up. Near the entrance to the village facing the cloud, a group of villagers stood with either Poke balls or their Pokémon already called out at the ready. Upon closer inspection, the dust cloud was being caused by a stampede of charging Pokémon known as Rhyhorn. They were four-legged Pokémon who were short in stature but very tough. Their bodies were covered in grey plating and had a small horn at the top of its snout. They had red eyes and several small but sharp teeth.
"All right, everyone. Don't give them the slightest inch today!" Shouted someone from the crowd. Before the horde of Rhyhorn could get any closer, the crowd of villagers had tossed their Poke balls releasing several Pokémon. Some were mostly grass and water to hit the rhyhorn's weak spots while some used other Pokémon that could withstand a fight against them. A huge battle had broken out between the two sides. The rhyhorn were determined to get to the village for some reason, but the villagers had fought back fiercely slowly but surely driving back the Rhyhorn.
Myron and Dana had just arrived to see witness what was going on.
"What's going on here? Why are these people fighting those Pokémon?" Dana asked. Before investigating any further, she had took out her Pokedex to learn more about these Pokémon.
Rhyhorn, the spikes Pokémon. Dexter began.
Rhyhorn's brain is very small. It is so dense, while on a run it forgets why it was running in the first place. It apparently remembers something if it demolishes something.
"Hey look! There's Tetsuo!" Myron shouted pointing to the Inn owner they were just talking to a short while ago. Dana and Myron had avoided some of the attacks that were being fired and eventually reached him where he was shouting attack commands.
"Poliwhirl, Hydro pump again!" Tetsuo shouted. His Poliwhirl had leaped into the air and fired a huge blast of water at three rhyhorn forcing them to retreat. Magmar, give 'em another flamethrower!" Magmar had shot a stream of blazing fire from its mouth burning two rhyhorn in the process.
"Tetsuo!" Dana shouted. Tetsuo turned to see her and Myron approach.
"What are you two doing here? Don't you know how dangerous this is?" Tetsuo asked trying to remain focused on the battle at hand.
"Tetsuo, what's going on here? Why are you all battling rhyhorn?" Dana asked.
"Look, I can't talk right now. Can this wait till this is over?" Tetsuo replied. Though while he was talking to them, he didn't see the rhyhorn charging at him from behind.
"Tetsuo, look out!" Dana shouted pointing at the rapidly charging ground type. Tetsuo didn't have enough time to react and was about to get trampled.
"Myron jr., razor leaf!" Myron shouted. Suddenly, a barrage of sharp leaves had hit the charging rhyhorn square in the face forcing it to halt before turning around. Tetsuo turned to his left to see a bulbasaur standing in front of Myron.
"Don't worry. We'll help you out. And then you can tell us what's going on." Said Myron. Tetsuo had nodded and turned his attention back to the horde of rhyhorn. After almost an hour passed, the horde of rhyhorn had retreated into the trees far on the outskirts of the village. The villagers and their Pokémon were exhausted from the fight as well.
"Whew. Another day, another afternoon defending the village." Tetsuo said with a sigh. Magmar, Poliwhirl, you two take a good rest. He said as he returned the two to their poke balls.
"Tetsuo, I don't understand. Why were you and the others fighting those Rhyhorn?" Asked Dana.
"It's a bit of a story. First, let's go back to the Inn. I'm sure both you and your Pokémon must be tired after that battle." Said Tetsuo. Minutes later, they were back at the Inn. Their Pokémon were eating Pokémon food while the others ate rice balls and vegetables. M
"You see, our village just happens to be placed near a rhyhorn's sleeping grounds not too far away from here. Tetsuo began. For a while, they had no reason to bother us. But one day, the rhyhorn had made their way into the village and begun destroying everything. Homes were destroyed, progress was set back for a couple of weeks. It was just terrible. If only we could communicate with the rhyhorn, we could find out why they're doing this.
"So, they just randomly decided to attack your village one day?" Dana asked.
"I wish it were only one day. Tetsuo sighed. This happens to be the third time they targeted the village. Upon the second time, one of the trainers staying here decided to use their water-type Pokémon to fight the rhyhorn. I guess everyone followed that trainer's example and did the same. Eventually, we did manage to drive them back, but by then, they still managed to do extensive damage to the village. Before the third time, the village came together and agreed on driving back the rhyhorn before they could even get near the village. Which resulted in the battle you two just witnessed today."
"And you're sure you have no idea why they were attacking in the first place?" Dana asked.
"Well…I think I may have some idea. But, it'll have to wait until tomorrow." Tetsuo replied as he scratched the back of his head.
"Tomorrow? How come?" Dana asked unwilling to let the subject go.
"Look, I'm sorry. I promise that I'll tell you tomorrow. For now, get some rest. I'll see you kids later." Tetsuo said as he had left the dining area leaving Dana a tad skeptical. After dinner, Myron and Dana had retired to their rooms. Myron had plopped down on his bed ready for dreamland. But he couldn't relax because Dana was busy pacing the floor going over the case with the Rhyhorn and what Tetsuo told them.
"Dana, come on. Can't you just let it go until tomorrow?" Myron asked with one eye open.
"I'm sorry Myron, but I can't. Dana replied as she continued to pace about. Why does Tetsuo have to wait until tomorrow to tell us? And why exactly do the rhyhorn keep attacking this village? There has to be some reason behind it. I think this calls for a little investigation." Dana had then slipped on her shoes and grabbed her backpack.
"Uh, where exactly do you think you're going? Asked Myron.
"I'm not going anywhere. We're going to get a closer look at this sleeping ground Tetsuo told us about." Dana replied.
"Aaaaw! Are you serious?!" Myron groaned.
"Come on, Myron! I want to find out what's going on and I need support if something happens." Dana pleaded. Myron wanted to complain more, but he couldn't just let her go out there by herself.
"Ugh, fine. Myron groaned. But I get to sleep in tomorrow." Moments later, Myron had gotten his gear and the two were on their way to the outskirts of the village. The hill was a bit of a steep climb, but they made it into the trees and begun carefully navigating their way through. If the rhyhorn really did sleep somewhere within the trees, then it wouldn't be wise to make a ruckus. The villagers really don't need a wake-up call from a horde of stampeding rhyhorn. Myron had followed Dana for a good three minutes until she had stopped him.
"Look. She whispered as she pointed beyond some bushes. The two peeked through to see a large number of rhyhorn sleeping in a clearing in the trees. Most of them were in groups of three. One big one with at least two little ones.
"Wow…that's a lot of rhyhorn." Myron gulped while still keeping his voice down. With just one look, he realized the danger they could be in if they were to mistakenly wake just one of them up.
"Yeah. And look how their arranged. Dana said as she had taken out a camera from her backpack. The little ones are sleeping close to the bigger ones. There must be families of them. Dana said as she snapped pictures. And it looks like they use leaves as bedding. As she continued to observe the resting ground of these ground-types, she noticed something odd. Hmm? That's strange."
"What is it?" Asked Myron.
"Over there. By one of the big ones. Dana replied as she pointed to one of the groups. There was a bedding area devoid of a rhyhorn. One of the little ones are missing."
"Oh yeah, I see it. Said Myron. You think one of them could have gotten lost?"
"Maybe. Or maybe it's something else entirely. Said Dana as she pondered for a moment. Come on, let's go back." Dana and Myron had quietly maneuvered through the forest and back to the village.
The next day, Dana was woken up by the sun's morning rays. She had rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and stretched her arms out before putting on her glasses. She turned to her right to see her friend snoring and spread out on his bed. She would have gotten him up, but she nearly ran him ragged yesterday only sparing a few moments to rest. So, she decided to let Myron sleep in for a bit and headed for the dining area to get some breakfast. She had gotten some pancakes and a glass of orange juice. When she was finished, she had decided to look for Tetsuo. After a minute of searching the Inn, he found that he was at the hot springs heating up the water with his magmar.
"Alright Magmar, that should be good for now." Said Tetsuo. His magmar had ceased his flamethrower and took a breath of relief.
"Mister Tetsuo?" Dana asked getting his attention.
'Oh, morning Dana. Tetsuo greeted. And the 'mister' is not needed. You can just call me Tetsuo. Where's your friend?"
"Oh, he'll be up later. He wanted to sleep in today." Dana replied.
"We'll when you're friend gets up; I'll tell you two what I promised to last night." Tetsuo said as he had left to another area of the Inn. Dana was a bit disappointed. She wanted to know now, but she didn't feel right leaving her friend behind. So, she waited for about another ten minutes before Myron had finally woken up. After he had breakfast, the two had gone to find Tetsuo once again. After meeting up with him, they were being led away from the Inn and to another building in the village. They stopped at a small house two story house with a window at the left side of the door. The house was made of wood much like almost everything else in the village. Tetsuo had knocked on the door three times before stepping back.
It wasn't long until they began hearing sounds of someone approaching from inside the house.
"Who is it?" A feminine voice asked from behind the door.
"It's me, Tetsuo!" Tetsuo replied, after the door was unlocked, it slowly swung open revealing a woman on the other side of the door. She had short brown hair and light peach skin. She had blue eyes and was wearing a plain red dress with an apron over it and red slippers.
"Oh, hello Tetsuo." The woman greeted. Who are these kids with you?"
"Maya, this is Dana and Myron. Traveling trainers who made a stop here in the village. Tetsuo said introducing the two. Kids, this is my good friend Maya. She helps me out at the Inn when I get overloaded with work."
"Nice to meet you two." Maya greeted as she bowed. So, if you two are trainers, I guess that means you're aiming for the Pokémon league?"
"That's right ma'am. And not to be rude but, Tetsuo told us that you might know something about the group of rhyhorn that keep attacking the village?"
"Oh, right. Maya said as her expression changed from happy to sad. If you'll just come in, I'll explain." She had opened the door completely and made way for her guests. The inside of her house wasn't anything special. But it did have that 'homey' feeling. Dana and Myron had took a seat on a couch while Tetsuo had sat in a rocking chair.
"Rhino! Could you come in here for a moment?" Maya shouted.
"Rhino?" Myron and Dana asked in unison. Soon, to their surprise, a rhyhorn had come running into the living room.
"A…a rhyhorn?!" Dana asked astonished.
"That's right. This is rhino. I believe he may be the reason that the rhyhorn keep attacking. Maya said as she had gently rubbed the rhyhorn's head. I didn't mean to cause so much trouble. It…it all just happened so fast. It started about four days ago. She begn as she had flashed back to a day where she was in the forest where the rhyhorn usually roam and sleep.
Near the rhyhorn's nesting grounds were apple trees. The apples that grew there were perfect for several dishes that Tetsuo could use at the Inn. I always go there whenever the rhyhorn aren't around. But, while I was picking, I failed to notice this little one spot me. The rhyhorn who she nicknamed 'rhino' had walked out of the bushes and spotted Maya picking apples. Unfortunately, I was too late to react as it charged into me and knocked me off the later I had brought with me.
Just as I was getting up, it looked ready to charge again. Honestly, I guess I should have ran. But instead, I decided to fight back against it and called out my bellossom. With me having the type advantage, the battle wasn't very long. It was only until after I had a chance to calm down that I realized I had attacked a child! Maya had slumped her head down depressed of what she did.
I was suddenly beside myself. I could have left it there and let its family take care of it, but I didn't know when they would be back. And I didn't just want to leave an injured child there so I….I…captured it. Maya struggled to say. I captured it so that I could take it to a Pokémon center in the town just a ways away from here. It took me a day to get there, and a day to get back. But, when I got back…"
"Let me guess, you found a horde of rhyhorn rampaging through the village?" Asked Dana. Maya had nodded.
"Yes. The rhyhorn never attacked the village before. They never came out towards it before. I have no idea how they could have followed me."
"It's possible that they came to the village looking for their missing young. Though, with rhyhorn commonly known to thrash into things…." Tetsuo trailed off scratching his cheek. I mean, I get that they want to find him, but after tearing up the village like they did the first time, I guess the people were too focused on stopping their destruction."
"I can't tell you how sorry I feel for all of this. If I had only ran, none of this would have happened." Maya said continuing to blame herself.
"Come on, Maya. We know you didn't want it to turn out like this. Said Tetsuo. Now that you're back, we can go take rhino back to his family. Then maybe they'll stop trying to look for him here."
"Right. Let's go ahead and get this over and done with before they decide to attack again." Maya said as she had gotten the poke ball she used to capture rhino. Come on, rhino. It's time you went home." She said before returning rhino to its poke ball. The four had then proceeded outside. But when they did, they suddenly heard sounds of fighting in the distance.
"Oh no. Don't tell me." Tetsuo said worried of what he might be hearing. He had raced to the entrance of the village where he and the others fought of the rhyhorn. Once he got there, his suspicions were confirmed. Once again, the rhyhorn had tried to gain access to the village. And once again, the villagers were fighting them off with their own Pokémon.
"What, again? Don't these guys ever get tired of doing the same thing?" Asked Myron.
"My guess is that since we're trying so hard to keep them out, they must think we're trying to hide something. Preferably, the lost child." Dana suspected.
"Well, today their search ends." Maya said as she had ran off into the crowd.
"Maya, wait! Don't just rush in head first!" Tetsuo shouted as he had gave chase with Myron and Dana close behind.
"Bellossom, come on out!" Maya shouted tossing a poke ball into the air. As it opened, a rather small Pokémon appeared. It's body was a light shade of green. It had a rounded head and long arms, but no digits. It had two red flowers on its head and wore a set of green and yellow leaves around its waist like a hula skirt. It had black dots for eyes and small light red blush marks on its cheeks.
"Bellossom!" It said after being released.
"Bellossom, calm everyone down with your sweet scent! Maya commanded. As her Pokémon nodded in agreement, it had leapt into the air before spinning itself around rapidly while releasing a pink fragrance that had swept over the battlefield and those who were battling. The instant the sweet scent hit their respective noses, everyone suddenly became much calmer. Soon, they stopped fighting all together. When she saw that the attack worked, Maya had approached the group of rhyhorn.
"Rhyhorn, you keep coming back here because you're looking for your lost one right?" She asked. Though the rhyhorn did not respond. But they did not attack either. Well, you can stop looking. With a gulp, she had took out rhino's poke ball and tossed it into the air. A blue beam of energy erupted from the poke ball. Soon, the energy had morphed into rhino. The minute it was out, it had ran to its family. It had nuzzled the snout of its parent happy to be reunited.
"I'm sorry for what I did. I should have never taken him. I hope this means you won't attack our village anymore." Maya had finally let the child go back with its family. Though, this had soon earned an uproar of questions from the villagers.
"Wait a minute; she had one of the rhyhorn?" Asked a female villager.
"Well no wonder they've been attacking us! They were looking for their stolen kid!" Shouted a male villager.
"Maya, why? How could you?" Asked another villager. Before Maya was overwhelmed with questions and complaints from the villagers, Tetsuo had stepped in.
"Hey, hey, hey! Everyone just calm down. Tetsuo pleaded. Maya will explain everything later. Right now, let's just hope that the Rhyhorn will leave." As Tetsuo turned, the rhyhorn had begun to turn around and head back into the trees. It seemed as though they understood somewhat of what Maya said. When they were finally out of sight, Maya had let out a sigh of relief. Later that day, Maya had told the entire story to the villagers. Truthfully, some of them were reasonably mad. Had she had let its family take care of it, it would have saved them the trouble of constantly fighting them and rebuilding destroyed parts of their village.
Though, some of the villagers had sympathized with her. Had they been in her place, they probably would have taken the child to the nearest Pokémon center as well. In the end, she was forgiven. Though, some of the villagers still thought it was a bad idea and would have preferred not to have done all the extra work. After staying one more night at the Inn, Dana and Myron get up early with their gear ready to head out.
"So, you two are going huh?" Asked Tetsuo.
"Yeah. Sorry, but we have too. We've already wasted enough time as it is lazing around." Said Dana.
"Well then, best of luck to you in your gym battle. Maya said with a smile. I hope you two make it to the league." As Myron and Dana had begun to leave, they gave one last wave good-bye before looking onward to the road ahead.
And so, another chapter ends. Gotta say, I've had this chapter saved in my head for a while now. And I'm glad I finally finished it after an unnecessarily long period of procrastination. Next time, we join the new trio of Kevin, Todd and Nazz as they finally arrive in Pewter city. Will they be able to earn their first gym badge? Or will they be overwhelmed, by the gym leader's prowess over rock-types?
Next time on kicking it in Kanto!,
Chapter 9:Showdown at the Pewter gym!